The Last Day
by Kay-chi-sama
Summary: Spoilers abound! The Kira case has come to a close and Near is living as the second L, when Ryuk returns and gives him a choice that he had only dreamed of... Slight MelloxNear.
1. Their Pictures and their Names

_Mello stepped out of the shadows, his subtle, beautiful features half burned away, eternally scarred by his unfailing determination.  
"It's been a while," Near said, not looking up from the safety of his toys. Somehow, even though he was staring at the ground, Mello was always in view. He couldn't look away from him.  
"Have you finished preparations?" Mello asked.  
They were sitting on a red carpet, and the trees were blooming white feathers, but all the photographers were looking away...  
"Yes. I'll have him soon enough."  
"Why are you fighting it, Near?" Mello bent over, looking Near in the eye, and he was almost out of view. "It's a god of death. It can't be defeated, even by us."  
Near shook his head frantically. "No, Mello, he isn't a god of death. He's just a murderer. We can take him down... together..."  
Mello grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look, and those eyes, those blue eyes... and that red, battered, broken flesh...  
"No, Near, __**we**_ _can't."  
"Why, Mello? We can surpass him together!" Near was panicking. But why? Why was his heart beating so fast?  
"Because... because..." Mello almost looked tearful, like he was in pain. Near wanted to reach out and help him... they were so far apart, after all. One step wouldn't hurt. Near crawled forward.  
"...because--"  
The flowers turned black and--FLASH!! FLASH!!--the photographers were taking pictures. Their pictures. Their faces and their names...  
Near turned back to Mello, but it was too late, and his pale skin had given way to burning flesh. The air stunk. Near's head ached. He wanted to go away, but he could hear the writing of the pen and he had to stop it, he had to stop them from dying...  
Everything fell away. Near was on the ground, alone.  
The air was warm. He could smell smoke. He lifted his head up and felt breathing in his ear. Troubled breathing--the last, unfailing, determined breaths... And blue eyes, stained by fire and ruin and death.  
__**"Because you killed me, Near." **__And the whisper turned to a growl, and a yell..._


	2. Thunderstorm

Near awoke with a start.  
"Ha... ha... ha..." his breathing was hard.  
Just a dream.  
He calmed himself and stood up out of bed. 4 AM. Late enough. He may as well get up... there was a case to work on--a drug ring possibly situated in Japan--and he had to call the NPA and request their help. Besides, he was L now, and the greatest detective in the world did not have the luxury of sleep.  
Near sat down on the floor of the SPK's computer room and began to work at a puzzle. He didn't usually have dreams, and he could not remember the last time he had had a nightmare. And the Kira case was long over--a year and 43 days since Light Yagami was proven to be Kira and killed. So why was his subconscious so hung up on it?  
"Mello..." he whispered. His voice had deepened since he'd said it last, and it felt unfamiliar on his tongue. The only truly painful death in all of this was the death of his equal, his 'rival', and the only person whom Near thought of as a friend. He had wondered quite a lot over these long months if Mello had thought of him the same way. There was quite a bit of recent evidence to the contrary, but they had never been _enemies, _per se--they had even helped each other out on certain occasions. Still, though--what did Mello think of Near? Did he think about him before he died, before he was killed, before he was murdered by someone who called himself God?  
_SNAP!_ The plastic puzzle piece broke in half in Near's grip. Sighing, he lay down the broken piece on top of the almost-completed puzzle, and sauntered over to a computer chair. The numerous computer screens on the walls all turned on when he moved the mouse. He opened the internet and went to Google.  
Hm. Apparently it was a thunderstorm outside. It had been a long time since Near had _been_ outside, and the idea of rain was almost alien to him, but if he closed his eyes and searched through his mind, he could go back to the days at his 'home-sweet-home' (as Mello had once called it) where it rained quite often, especially in the summer. The other children at the orphanage cowered at the thunder--all except for him and Mello. Near because he knew that the chance of lightning hitting the orphanage was barely .01%, and thunder was simply the air expanding around lightning... and Mello because he knew that L shouldn't be afraid of anything.  
Near looked up videos of lightning on Youtube, and on the huge screens the storms almost looked real. Now all he needed was his rival, and it would be just like before, only instead of the warm, welcoming home-sweet-home of their childhood, it would be in the cool office of the SPK.  
Only his rival was dead. Near sighed and leaned back in his chair.  
_KRAAAAAK_  
As the lightning flashed on the screen, something caught Near's eye--a face, in the corner of the room. He tilted his head. The doors of the SPK always remained locked and the SPK members didn't come in until 7 AM... which meant...  
"Ryuk. You can come out now."  
"Henh henh henh... Near, you sure know your stuff..."  
The shinigami flew out of the shadows, and the rest of his black body became visible. He must have only been peering into the room. As Near had learned years ago, Shinigami could walk through walls... it must be quite an interesting power to have, he mused.  
He stared at Ryuk, coldly, an expression which he had perfected over the years. "You've returned to the human world. Why?"  
He shrugged, which was a strange movement on a Shinigami--it looked more like his wings were twitching than a shrug. "Meh. I was bored, so I came here." His eyes flickered yellow for a second, despite the lack of a light-source, and a smirk appeared on his face. "You want anyone to die? I have a death note."  
Near raised an eyebrow. It was a tempting notion, especially with this bothersome drug ring running around.  
But... no. That tool was the same thing that had killed Mello, and using it for his own gain would accomplish nothing except bring down the name of L--_his _name--to the level of Kira. Near twirled a hair.  
"No, thank you, Ryuk, I believe I am fine."  
"Hmph. Shame."  
There was a long and awkward pause.  
"Well, I suppose I'll be going now." He turned towards the wall.  
"Hey, Ryuk?"  
Ryuk paused and looked back, his eyes bright again. It was an expression of excitement, Near realized.  
"Yes, Near?"  
"Do you have the power to bring a person back to life?"  
Ryuk wrinkled his nose (or what Near assumed was a nose) and turned back towards him. "No, but I know someone who does. Why?"  
"Would you do it for me?" Near's eyes were wide and he was twirling his hair faster now.  
"Not unless you had something to give me in return. For instance"--Ryuk's eyes flashed again, brighter this time--"half your lifespan. And a hell of a lot of apples."  
Near thought about it for a minute. He sighed. "Perhaps a quarter of my lifespan? And I'll get you a box full of apples."  
"Hmm..." Ryuk's face twisted this way and that. "...That's... not quite good enough..."  
"Big, red, juicy apples. The freshest I can find. And those will be the freshest in the world. But if you don't want to take my offer, you may as well be on your way..."  
"Deal." Ryuk's expression somewhat resembled resentment, or defeat. Near cracked a nasty smile.  
"I will need time to get my end of the bargain," Near said nonchalantly, turning back to his computer. "Please return in one week with whomever can fulfill your end of it."  
"Sure thing." Ryuk turned once again to leave. He paused for a second.  
"Near."  
"Yes, Ryuk?" Near didn't look at him, instead choosing to resume watching thunderstorm videos on youtube.  
"Who is it that you want to bring back, anyway?"  
Near sighed. "You should be able to figure that out for yourself. But you will find out in a week, anyway..." he played a video, and the loud noises of thunder and rain once again filled the room.  
"Fine. See you soon, Near." Ryuk disappeared again into the shadow, and flew off--likely towards the Shinigami world.  
Near stared at the screen, twirling his hair nervously.  
One week... it hadn't seemed long at the time, but now it was like an eternity...  
One week, and then he'd see Mello again.


End file.
